Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapeutic Applications

Gold (Au) nanostructures have received considerable attention in recent years due to their advantageous chemical and physical properties and potential applications in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Easily controllable size, geometry, and nontoxicity of Au nanostructures enable their diverse array of biomedical applications. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are subpopulations of cells within tumors that drive tumor growth, metastasis and recurrence. CSCs are resistant to many current cancer treatments, including chemo and radiation therapy. As these cells are both invasive and highly tumorigenic, it has been hypothesized that the inability to efficiently eliminate CSCs during conventional therapy may result in disease relapse and formation of metastases. Recent studies have described new treatment modalities to deliver therapeutic payloads directly to CSCs using nanoparticles. Despite the successful use of Au nanoparticles for cancer therapy both in vitro and in vivo, their CSC targeting capability remain largely unexplored. The objective of this project is to investigate the significance of shape, size, and culture time in the distribution of Au nanoparticles in CSCs and non-CSCs and to understand the underlying mechanisms of internalization.Undergraduat